(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a doorframe assembly for a door opening in a hollow-wall partition construction wherein the assembly comprises metal backer jamb members and metal header member snap-engaged by vinyl jamb members and vinyl header cover member respectively which envelop and cover the metal members and provide recesses along wall portions thereof for securement of strike plate means and hinge plate means providing a generally planar finished and mortised surface along the vinyl members.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Hollow partition wall construction featuring quick installation and field adaptability to particular construction requirements has become very desirable in recent years. Along with this hollow-wall construction, framing for door openings must also allow for ease of installation with members that can be interchangeably used as particular needs arise in an overall office, residence, or factory partition wall system. It has become particularly important to provide framing members which can be interchangeably used and individually altered in the field.
Many prior art doorframe techniques utilize extruded metal and vinyl elements to provide required quick installation. Typically, an exposed extruded jamb member provides slotting or notching for hinge members, securing plate members, door stops, trim plates, strike plates, and an array of necessary hardware elements for doorframing. Unfortunately, many prior systems either restrict attachment of hinge plates to a particular jamb member and a strike plate to an opposing jamb member at the other side of the door opening. Also, some systems have large assortments of accessory parts that involve lengthy installation operations for their attachment. It would be desirable to provide doorframing members which allow reversibility of jamb members with a limited number of accessory parts that would expedite installation and allow interchangeability of members having adaptable use at various door openings without limitation to a specific door opening location in a hollow-wall partition construction.
It has also become a need for the construction industry to provide a door jamb member which permits the variable location of hinge plates without limitation to specifically notched portions. In attempting to solve this problem, past attempts have typically been limited to connection of hinge plates with metal members. With increased costs of providing decorative exposed metal jamb members, the use of extruded vinyls has been explored. Problems, however, have arisen when trying to incorporate extruded vinyl members in that attachment to door opening sides necessitates the use of a sturdy metal backer of some sort. Complex shapes for metal backer jambs have thus been required allowing versatile location of hinge plate means. The hinge plate attachment is then followed by attachment of numerous extruded trim elements concealing unsightly and undecorated metal backer jambs. In many attempted solutions, a difficulty has arisen in providing the necessary thickness of metal backer members that feature sufficiently thick surfaces usable with screw fasteners for affixation of hinge plate means to afford necessary strength for door support. Although hollow-core doors reduce weight and thus alleviate the requirements of extra strength, it would be highly desirable to have adaptability for use with a hollow-core or heavier solid-core door in a hollow-wall partition construction where needed. Conventional solid-core doors may range up to about 120 lbs. and sufficient strength for screw fastener attachment at hinge plate means is mandated. Efforts to provide this have been made wherein additional metal plates, shims, or plate means are inserted along a metal backer jamb behind hinge plate means to provide the necessary thicknesses for the conventional screw fastener attachment of hinge plate means involving the use of a heavier door.
At the side of a typical door opening where strike plate means coact with door locking means, a similar problem for allowing variable location of the strike plate has been confronted. In many recent attempts, the jamb at the strike side of the door opening requires a different shape and manner of installation than the jamb at the hinge side of the door opening. Moreover, pre-cut notches for attachment of a strike plate means necessarily limits the ability to provide members at various door locations having different strike plate height requirements. In previous solutions to reversible jamb member framing, there has typically been provided a complex jamb member which allows for use at either side of the door opening, but requires additional material for extruding, or roll forming, cover plate members and engageable slots on jamb members to attain this feature.
It would be desirable to provide a simplified framing utilizing reversible jamb members with facile installation and few elements.
(3) Objects of the Invention
It is a primary object of this invention to provide a doorframe for hollow-wall partition construction which permits field installing hinges and strike plates along a jamb member at any location for either right-hand or left-hand swinging doors.
It is an important object of this invention to provide snap-on engaging vinyl jamb members which snap-engage a metal backer jamb member to conceal the metal backer jamb member from view.
It is accordingly an object of this invention to also provide a snap-on engaging vinyl header cover which snap-engages a metal header member to conceal the metal header member from view.
An attendant object of this invention is to provide vinyl jamb members which offer the feature of selective hinge plate and strike plate locations in the field for use with a multiplicity of differing door requirements.
A concommitant goal of this invention is to provide attachment means along metal backer jamb members capable of supporting both hollow-core and solid-core door members by hinge means fastened thereto.
A secondary object of this invention is to provide a doorframe assembly which consists of relatively few elements allowing simple installation and low-cost manufacture.
A related object of this invention is to provide snap-engageable vinyl jamb members and vinyl header cover members having exterior portions with esthetically pleasing configurations while at the same time having substantially identical attachment portions useful with metal backer jamb members and metal header members.